Collector Classics: 1952 Rolux VB61

Pint-sized micro-car barely fit two adults and needed some grunt work to reverse

by
Nigel Matthews, Driving | February 7, 2016

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Having seen a Peel P50 in the flesh, I thought it was the smallest car I had ever seen. That was until I photographed a 1952 Rolux VB61 belonging to Peter Svilans of Thornhill, Ont. I first spotted this car at the Hilton Head Concours d’Elegance in South Carolina in 2011.

Robert Robin persuaded Paul Martin, the owner of New-Map motorcycles of Lyon, France, who built 1,000 micro-cars between 1938 and 1952, to build a new model. This took place in 1945 during a company restructuring. The prototype was ready in 1946, and looked similar to the prewar model with a revised front-end design; it was powered by a 100-cc single-cylinder, air-cooled, two-stroke Sachs engine, which was mounted behind the driver and drove the rear axle via a chain. Production began in 1947, when the company moved to new premises in Clermont-Ferrand.

One of 300 models built, it looks likes a pedal car or electric car that Santa might leave under a tree for a lucky child.

As you can see, it is an open-top car without doors and room for two slender adults. Getting in and out with the convertible top up would be an impossible task. Lacking a reverse gear, the process of turning a Rolux around involved picking up one end and changing its direction manually, which is the same process for the Peel P50.

The VB61 was launched in 1950 and was fitted with a larger 175-cc Ydral engine. Production was short-lived, with about 300 being built. The company continued building motorcycles and some small three-wheeled vans called Solyto. Production of these vehicles continued until 1974. A total of 4,000 were built.

Nigel Matthews is the global director of client services for Hagerty Insurance Agency, LLC. Hagerty is the world’s largest specialist provider of collector car insurance and provides many resources that support the classic car lifestyle. You can contact him at nmatthews@hagerty.com or visit hagerty.ca.